Map/Mode Frequency for October

[RocketClauncher]

So the month of October was a first for Splatoon. October was the first month where no new maps where added. As we all know, the new maps usually get shoved in our faces in rotation for a few days. Without this happening, we can take a clear and unbiased look at the frequency of maps/modes in October.

All data in this study was collected via @SplatoonMaps

Data Results <--- Spreadsheet

Spoiler: Top 5 RM Maps

Flounder Heights (20)
Camp Triggerfish (18)
Urchin Underpass (17)
Kelp Dome (17)
Bluefin Depot/Moray Towers (14)

Spoiler: Top 5 SZ Maps

Saltspray Rig (25)
Port Mackerel (16)
Camp Triggerfish (13)
Hammerhead Bridge (13)
Walleye Warehouse (12)

Spoiler: Top 5 TC Maps

Blackbelly Skatepark (19)
Hammerhead Bridge (16)
Bluefin Depot (14)
Moray Towers (9)
Urchin Underpass (8)

Discussion

So as we can see, the map selection for modes doesn't appear to be random. It seems that each mode has a clear outright map that is heavily featured, with a few other maps that are very common as well. We can theorize that the frequency of map/mode combinations could be a hint/push from the dev team on which modes work best on certain maps. As a community, we have already taken a starting stance on map/mode preference, having pre-picked maps and modes for the majority of our most recent tournaments. Hopefully this data can help with that, as we continue to narrow down the list of map/mode selections. Also interestingly enough, Tower Control seemed to get the short end of the stick in October, with Rainmaker and Splat Zones getting in rotation much more. It'll be interesting to see how future maps come in to play as well. Thoughts?​

 

[Demiose]

Really interesting! I might be ignorant on this, but are the maps and modes preemptively selected by actual devs or are they randomly generated? If it's the latter I don't think this has much bearing on what the dev team really has in mind - but yeah, it's something to think about nontheless

 

[RocketClauncher]

Really interesting! I might be ignorant on this, but are the maps and modes preemptively selected by actual devs or are they randomly generated? If it's the latter I don't think this has much bearing on what the dev team really has in mind - but yeah, it's something to think about nontheless

Yeah that was the original thought (that they were randomly generated) but given this data we can theorize that it could be selective picking as the data suggests, but ultimately we can't prove anything until there is some sort of official clarification.

 

[DaBoss]

 

[Agosta44]

It's random unless stated otherwise.

If any map is actually being forced into rotation, it's Salt Spray. It's the map that needs to be remodeled the heaviest. It has worse chokeholds than 1.0 Urchin, and an uphill battle to get into the zone. IMO we'll be seeing a redesign sometime soon.

 

[Oniric]

I hope this means they are aware of how bad Saltspray is, or at least make people more vocal about how much they truly dislike it.

 

[WydrA]

It's random unless stated otherwise.

No, it's random unless evidence proves otherwise. That's generally how randomness works. If a supposedly random number generator spits out the number 9 98 time out of 100, you can be sure it's not random, because probability states the chances of the happening is just retarded.

the evidence here should be enough to make people suspicious at least, since there are some pretty big gaps. There's just not enough to prove anything yet.

Speaking of which, OP can you maybe post the full results? You said these are only top 5 in each mode, right? That implies there were others that didn't show as frequently. If that's the case it would be useful to see those numbers too :)

 

[SquiliamTentacles]

Speaking of which, OP can you maybe post the full results? You said these are only top 5 in each mode, right? That implies there were others that didn't show as frequently. If that's the case it would be useful to see those numbers too :)

It would be nice to see the results for Turf Wars too.

 

[DaBoss]

Speaking of which, OP can you maybe post the full results? You said these are only top 5 in each mode, right? That implies there were others that didn't show as frequently. If that's the case it would be useful to see those numbers too :)

The Google Doc with all of October's numbers are linked in the OP as "Data Results". Here's a direct link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dztyVGy5BlAh5pZLb705Nh5JUfkKkw5o18CF3cTYF1U/edit#gid=0

 

[WydrA]

Okay for rainmaker: 13 maps with 144 rotations total, If it was random it should come up to about 11 each. Straight off the bat, one problem is that we have 3 maps that are straight up zero. Didn't show up even once. That itself is pretty unlikely. that of the 144 spots, 3/13 maps would get none of the spots? Almost certainly not random.

So a more interesting idea is that maybe these maps are purposely pulled off rotation for balance reasons or something (the fact Slatspray got 0 in both RM and TC would seem to suggest so, except that it was pretty popular in zones, where (imo) it's least balanced. Oh well). that leaves 144 spots for 10 maps. Should come up to 14 rotations each, and the numbers are certainly a lot closer in that situation.At least for Raimaker. for zones you have no zeroes, so nothing could be said to be pulled for balance. And then you still have Bluefin with 2/144, and Saltspray on the other hand with 25/144. that's a whopping 17% of the picks for Saltspray, compared to Bluefin's measly 1(.3)%. The average (11 picks) is 7.6%.
I mean I ain't no marine biologist, but that looks pretty fishy to me.

 

[SquiliamTentacles]

Looking at the data, I realized Tower Control was on significantly less (41 times) than Splat Zones (67) and Rainmaker (65). This can not be a coincidence, though I don't know why the people choosing maps/modes were biased against TC. It seems just as balanced and unique as the other two to me.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

I was actually more interested in seeing which were the least-chosen mode and map combinations, because it means they must not be well-liked for one reason or another. This is what I could derive from there:
Never (0 times) - Blackbelly Skatepark (Rainmaker), Hammerhead Bridge (Rainmaker), Saltspray Rig (Rainmaker), Saltspray Rig (Tower Control)
Once (1 time) - Camp Triggerfish (Tower Control), Port Mackerel (Tower Control)
Twice (2 times) - Bluefin Depot (Splat Zones)
4 Times - Kelp Dome (Tower Control), Urchin Underpass (Splat Zones)
6 Times - Walleye Warehouse (Tower Control)
7 Times - Arowana Mall (Tower Control)
8 Times - Urchin Underpass (Tower Control)

Incidentally, the very first time I played Ranked, it was Walleye Warehouse Tower Control.

I'm interested in what gets left out because there must be reasons for them. Stuff like Hammerhead Bridge I can see why because of the exploit where you go onto the support beams, but there are likely reasons the people maintaining this game must know about the other no-shows, and possibly the other rare ones.

 

[TheMH]

Very interesting information, I was actually looking for data like this since the rotation bias started - I think it was one or two weeks before the 2.2.0 update hit, but don't quote me on that... Unfortunately I don't have the possibility to be online often enough every day to gather the data myself, so I really appreciate the effort you put in there :)

First of all the map distribution looks about right to me, so that's fine, but Nintendo seems to have messed with mode probabilites, respectively probabilites for map X to show up in mode Y. It's most obvious on Saltspray where supposedly the probabilites for both RM and TC were set to 0% which results in Saltspray being the most common SZ map and most common rotation overall.
It would be nice to know why the devs are doing this. It's kinda obvious on two 0%-rotations - Saltspray RM and Blackbelly RM; they have gameplay issues - but I don't have a clue why they would ban the other two and set so many others to low-%s. In their patchnotes everything is described in detail, but they seem to prefer to stay quiet about this change.

I'm definitely not liking it. The map/mode rotation per se damages Splatoon more and more, as it limits the things you can do in the game too much. As you may have noticed, the activity in the western community has dropped quite a bit during the last 1-2 months and this is not helping it...

 

[TheSaltySquid]

Well ever since November has started, I've been getting triggerfish and rainmaker daily and it's quite annoying. The map itself leads to frustration. I wish the randomness would come back. Like Saltspray rig on rainmaker

 

[Inyo]

Very interesting information, I was actually looking for data like this since the rotation bias started - I think it was one or two weeks before the 2.2.0 update hit, but don't quote me on that... Unfortunately I don't have the possibility to be online often enough every day to gather the data myself, so I really appreciate the effort you put in there :)

First of all the map distribution looks about right to me, so that's fine, but Nintendo seems to have messed with mode probabilites, respectively probabilites for map X to show up in mode Y. It's most obvious on Saltspray where supposedly the probabilites for both RM and TC were set to 0% which results in Saltspray being the most common SZ map and most common rotation overall.
It would be nice to know why the devs are doing this. It's kinda obvious on two 0%-rotations - Saltspray RM and Blackbelly RM; they have gameplay issues - but I don't have a clue why they would ban the other two and set so many others to low-%s. In their patchnotes everything is described in detail, but they seem to prefer to stay quiet about this change.

I'm definitely not liking it. The map/mode rotation per se damages Splatoon more and more, as it limits the things you can do in the game too much. As you may have noticed, the activity in the western community has dropped quite a bit during the last 1-2 months and this is not helping it...

I have not noticed that.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Looks like the distribution for November will be different somewhat: Hammerhead Bridge Rainmaker has returned (which, according to that October data, was one of the stage-mode combinations temporarily removed).

 

[TheSaltySquid]

I've never played rainmaker on hammerhead, and when I did I hated hammerhead even more